Housing markets

Fed Gov. Stephan Miran has spent his short tenure at the central bank arguing that disinflation in housing and immigration reforms will tamp down inflation in the near term. But other economists say the timing, degree and context of those effects is very much in question.

Affordable housing expert Marian Zucker retired on Dec. 1 as head of S&P Global Rating's housing group after over 40 years of working in the public and private sectors of the municipal bond industry.

City Attorney Michael Gates said he will appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Bond Buyer Senior Reporter Keeley Webster shares an interview with California Treasurer Fiona Ma on her run for lieutenant governor as a prelude to a fireside chat Wells Fargo Director Julia Kim conducted with the state treasurer at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance conference.

Peter Lam has served as bond counsel to state and local issuers for public and privately placed bond issuances.

With municipal yields at exceedingly low absolute levels, the spread tightening between credits also continues.

Negotiated deals were repriced to lower yields while competitive deals saw levels coming in through triple-A benchmarks. High-grade benchmarks were little changed.

The city, which Moody's downgraded last week, is appealing a Nassau County judge's ruling that has it on the hook for $131 million over a dispute with a developer.

Strong technicals have been the theme, and with federal aid and better-than-expected tax receipts coming in, issuers are not tapping the market as much as investors would hope.

Refinitiv Lipper reported another week of inflows at $1.64 billion, with $630 million headed into to high-yield. Benchmark yields rose as much as four basis points following weaker U.S. Treasuries, resistance to ultra-low yields.

Municipal bond mutual funds took notice of rate movements with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $37 million of inflows after 15 weeks of multi-billion inflows, the lowest since Dec. 2. High-yield funds took a big hit with $330 million of outflows.

Transportation officials weigh the potential and pitfalls of this public-private development mode amid a financial squeeze during the coronavirus.

It is most certainly an issuers' market as rates are low, credit spreads continue to tighten, money pours into municipal bond mutual funds at record levels and a net negative supply of more than $11 billion.

New issues priced with ease with high-grade issuers tight to triple-A benchmarks. It was the first time the municipal yield curve saw such noticeable movement, following little changed secondary activity for nearly the past two weeks.

A 'perpetual calm' continues to fall over the municipal market as inflows into municipal funds, combined with the shortage of traditional tax-exempt supply, is directing most aspects of daily market activity.

Refinitiv Lipper reports another multi-billion week of inflows, the domino effect from such strong flows is that secondary selling doesn’t need to be so active, creating fewer opportunities for new inquiry, analysts say.

While way up annually, pending home sales saw its third consecutive month of decline. Elsewhere, the Chicago PMI bested estimates.

The housing market continues to shine, showcased by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index, which climbed 1.4% in October from a month earlier. On an annual basis the national index jumped 8.4% in October, compared with 7.0% in September.

Jobless claims decreased in the latest week, while new home sales fell 11%.

The resurgence of the coronavirus led to a larger than expected drop in consumer confidence.